Thursday, July 17, 2008

Verizon Goes Experiential to Spark WOM

This is one of those articles that reports something so painfully obvious, you have to wonder what the heck took so long.

Think of the last time you visited a cell phone store or kiosk with the intention of selecting a new phone. What were the top things you wanted to know about the phones you were considering: How was the sound quality? Was it easy to operate? Did the buttons feel solid--like they'd take a beating over time? How heavy was the device?

And which of these questions could you answer by picking up the phones at the store? First of all, you might've been lucky to pick them up at all, since many stores have the phones bolted to the wall. Even if you could get it in your hand, what you likely found was a dummy phone with dummy buttons, no "guts", and no battery. If this was your experience, you were able to answer absolutely none of the primary questions you had about the product.

Apparently Verizon finally figured out that it is in the cell phone business, because they're making news for opening a series of "Experience Stores." According to MediaPost, Boston's "6,600 square foot store... offers consumers a high-tech and hands-on experience with wireless voice, data, music and video services. The store, one of about 100 now open across the country, displays more than 55 working phones, broadband services and integrates kiosks for easy check and bill paying."

What interests me isn't so much that a mobile company's store is allowing consumers to actually experience the mobile company's phones but how they're promoting the new store: they're letting the experience and the consumers do the talking. As discussed here in Maslow's Hierarchy: Why People Engage in Online Communities, sparking a marketing community or WOM begins with a differentiated brand experience; no differentiation means no desire to tell others which means no WOM.

Verizon knows this, and that is why a significant portion of their store promotion plan relies on WOM and blog chatter to help attract attention and drive traffic to the new store. A consumer market research expert is quoted in the MediaPost article pointing out that Verizon's advertising phrase "Can you hear me now?" has become so well known that there's no reason to spend serious money to advertise services. "The phrase has arguably reached iconic status, which adds to the experience message Verizon tries to communicate in the stores."

Verizon has created a solid foundation for success: The combination of a differentiated marketing message and a differentiate shopping experience can ignite a great deal of WOM. Thanks to Erik over at the Experiential Marketing Forum and Swivel Media for sharing this article.

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About Experience: The Blog

The world is changing rapidly, both for consumers and brands. Consumers are more empowered than ever before and traditional business models are under attack.

In an increasingly social, mobile and real-time world, brands are created not by the messages they broadcast but by the experiences they offer--ones that create empathy, build trust, earn loyalty, spur Word of Mouth, encourage collaboration, and provide ever greater value to customers in innovative ways. On this blog, we explore how brands are built and business improved via Customer Experience Management, purposeful corporate culture, social and mobile business strategy and collaborative economy models.

You are welcome to participate, criticize, praise, critique, expand, or correct the information and opinions found on this blog. Spam, off-topic, or crude comments will be deleted, but all others are welcome.

About the Author

I am Augie Ray, Research Director covering customer experience at Gartner. I conduct and publish research and advise Fortune 500 clients on the value, process, measurement and tools of customer experience. This includes topics such as Voice of the Customer (VoC), personas, customer journey maps, CX governance, and customer experiences metrics that are leading metrics of brand success.

Previously, I was Director of Global Voice of Customer Strategy for a Fortune 100 financial service company. My background includes more than 20 years of experience in digital, brand, customer experience and social media.

In the past, I led social business at USAA, a firm recognized for its innovative use of communities and social customer care within the financial service industry. I also consulted and published analysis as a Forrester analyst covering digital marketing and social media. In addition, I led a diverse $9 million agency team with specialties in digital development, digital experiential marketing and community strategy.

The future will bring a great deal of innovation that offers opportunities to organizations that are agile and willing to cannibalize their own business models (but it will severely challenge those organizations that cannot.)

The views expressed on this website/blog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.